Carles Duarte (Barcelona, 1959) is a poet and linguist. The main themes in his poetry, in which the elements of the Mediterranean landscape and its cultural references are ever-present, are tenderness, dreaming and oblivion. His work has been translated into several languages and has been awarded the Rosa Leveroni, Vila de Martorell and Serra d'Or Critics' prizes. He is also a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Outstanding among his books are Tríptic hebreu (Hebrew Triptych), El silenci (Silence), El centre del temps (The Centre of Time) and Els immortals (The Immortals). He has also published several works of fiction.

He has worked inter alia with the painter Antonio Hervás, the sculptors Guido Dettoni and Manuel Cusachs, the photographers Francesc Guitart and Kim Castells, and the singers Dounia Hédreville, Josep Tero, Antonio Placer, Franca Masu, Elena Ledda and Mariona Sagarra. As a linguist he has worked with professors Joan Coromines and Antoni M. Badia i Margarit and has published books on historical linguistics as well as other specialised works on language.

He was Secretary-General of the President’s Department in the last government headed by Jordi Pujol (1999 – 2003). He was vice president of the Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (Association of Catalan Language Writers) and president of the Recvll de Blanes literary awards. He is currently president of the Consell Nacional de la Cultura i de les Arts (CoNCA, National Council for Culture and Arts) and director of the Lluís Carulla Foundation.

He is a member of AELC (Association of Catalan Language Writers).



Translation: Julie Wark.
Photographs: © Francesc Guitart.